paul flannery

When the East Will Be Won: Celtics Enter Key Stretch for Conference Supremacy

We are already well into what may prove the most significant leg in the race to claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference. While these things usually come into focus sometime between St. Patrick’s Day and the end of the NCAA Tournament, the month before the All-Star game is crucial to the hopes of the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic.

Why is that? As Doc Rivers said a few weeks ago, “This is when teams lose focus.”

And games.

On Jan. 15, the Celtics were just coming out of their weird stretch and stood in third place in the conference standings, a half game behind Cleveland and in a virtual tie with Orlando, but three games back in the loss column.

Since then, the Cavs and Magic have lost three times each, while the Celtics have rolled through another winning streak.

What’s at stake? Just about everything.

Cleveland has yet to lose in its building, while the Celtics have the second-best home mark and feel, not without justification, that home court carried them through the playoffs last year. Orlando, meanwhile needs every advantage it can possibly get, especially without All-Star guard Jameer Nelson, who suffered a torn labrum against Dallas on Monday and could miss the rest of the regular season.

The Magic’s dirty little secret all season has been a lack of depth at the point behind Nelson. Veteran Anthony Johnson was able to carry them through a five-game stretch earlier in the year, but he is a career backup and there is no one else, unless you count Mike Wilks.

The other upside to getting homecourt advantage is avoiding a semifinal matchup with any of the above three teams. Atlanta may present some matchup problems for the Celtics, but you can believe Boston would gladly deal with the Hawks instead of LeBron James or Dwight Howard in the semis.

Here’s a look at what the three teams have on their schedules between prior to the All-Star Break, which runs from Feb. 13-16, and what looms in the second half.

After the Break
Games: 27
Home: 13
Road: 14
Back-to-backs: Four
West Coast trips: One (Utah, Phoenix, Denver, Clippers)
Toughest Stretch: March 15-21
The C’s play five games in six days with road games at Milwaukee and Chicago, a quick one at the Garden with Miami and then back on the road for San Antonio and Memphis.

The run just before and after the break, when the Celtics play at New Orleans and Dallas and then hit the West Coast, could also lay claim to the title of toughest stretch. After that, things get considerably easier.
Easiest Stretch: March 29-April 10
The Celtics play five straight home games against Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Atlanta, New Jersey and Miami.

After the Break
Games: 31
Home: 16
Road: 15
Back-to-backs: Seven
West Coast trips: One (Clippers, Phoenix, Sacramento)
Toughest Stretch: Feb. 26-March 13
The Cavs play 10 games in 15 days with eight road games in the mix. The biggest? March 6 at Boston.

Toughest Stretch: March 8-18
This will be the defining 10 days for Orlando. The Magic play seven games with five on the road against Boston, Detroit, Washington, Cleveland and Milwaukee.

Easiest Stretch: Now.

If anyone is going to catch the Celtics they had best do it between now and the end of the month because after that things get considerably easier for the C’s. They have yet to lose a game when given more than one day off in between and should be well-rested for the stretch run with only four back-to-backs between now and the end of the season.

That is the long-awaited payoff to their tortuous beginning and middle when they reached the halfway points several weeks before some teams and opened up with 18 games in October and November.

Paul Flannery is a regular contributor for WEEI.com. He can be reached at pflannery@weei.com.

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